On the Barren Fig Tree

On the Significance of Fruit Before the Harvest, or "On the Barren Fig Tree"
"Far be it from God to do wickedness, or from the Almighty to do wrong" (Job 34:10).

People read the Bible in various ways: Christians read it as the Word of God, as the great Truth, and as a guide for life. Yet there are also those who look for errors. Instead of searching for faults within themselves, they seek them in God. Thus, in one newspaper, just before the arrival of the Easter holiday, an article was published addressing this very festival. After briefly noting at the outset that Christians acknowledge Jesus Christ as their God, the author proceeded to accuse Jesus Christ of unjustly destroying a fig tree simply because it bore no fruit when He and His disciples approached it—hoping to eat from it, as they were hungry.

In accusing One whom he did not truly know, the author cited passages from the Bible stating that this occurred before the season typically appointed for the harvesting of figs. The Bible recounts this event as follows (Mark 11:12–14, 20–24): "On the next day, when they had come out of Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And His disciples heard it.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him: 'Rabbi!'" "Look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them—whatever they say. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Thus, we see that this passage speaks of spiritual matters—specifically, that in prayer, a person must entrust themselves to God and harbor no doubt that God will come to their aid. The Lord speaks here of a deep and authentic faith—the kind of faith with which one must approach God in prayer. And if a person prays and turns to God with a request, they must understand that their words do not vanish into a void; rather, the Great God heeds and listens to them. As we approach prayer, we can say to ourselves: "Now my God—my hope and my refuge—is about to listen to me; He listens with love for me and with a desire to help me." This is a matter of profound responsibility for each of us who turns to God in prayer.

However, this story holds yet another significance for us. The fig tree symbolizes human beings—those who, during their earthly lives, are called to bear spiritual fruit. The Bible describes this in the following terms: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22–23).

The season of fruit-gathering symbolizes the end of a person's earthly life—their ultimate encounter with God. This also applies to those who will be living on earth at the time of the Lord's Second Coming. Yet, the fig tree was indeed at fault, for it bore absolutely no fruit, whereas other trees did bear fruit—fruit that was in the process of ripening. We know that a gardener uproots and burns trees that bear no fruit. And from every fruit-bearing tree, the gardener prunes away the non-fruit-bearing branches. The Lord warns people of this in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verses 1–2. He tells us that every branch that does not bear fruit, God cuts off. This figurative expression—much like the earlier one regarding the fig tree—serves to remind people that they must cultivate the spiritual fruits mentioned above within their lives before the time of the harvest arrives. However, none of this mattered to the author of the article, nor did he grasp its significance; for he pursued but a single objective: to accuse Jesus Christ of unjustly destroying the fig tree, on the grounds that the season for gathering fruit had not yet come.

People live their lives in diverse ways—some in poverty, others in wealth. Yet those who have known the pangs of hunger understand that they were grateful for any opportunity to eat apples or other fruits, without waiting for them to reach full ripeness! In the same way, people must bear spiritual fruits in their lives. Of all such fruits, love for humanity, love for God, and faith are of paramount importance. They foster the emergence and refinement—the ripening—of all other spiritual fruits. These virtues do not simply manifest at our whim; rather, they are inextricably linked to the path we choose to follow in life and to our triumph over the many temptations we encounter along the way.

The attainment of love and the presence of egoism are inversely proportional phenomena: to the exact degree that our love for God and for humanity increases, our egoism diminishes. The ultimate culmination of this growth in love is our union with God following our earthly existence. Conversely, the ultimate limit of the reduction of our egoism is our physical body itself—our earthly flesh—which will eventually return to dust. People must bear their fruits before the time of the "harvest" arrives.

The attainment of love and the presence of self-centeredness are inversely proportional phenomena: to the extent that our love for God and for people increases, our self-centeredness diminishes. The ultimate limit of the growth of love is our union with God after our life on earth. The ultimate limit of the diminishing of our self-centeredness is our physical flesh on earth, which will eventually return to dust. People must bear fruit before the time of the "harvest."

Those who lack love for God cannot serve Him or dwell with Him in eternity. Under all circumstances in our life on earth, we must overcome challenges by being guided by the Word of God—that is, by the instructions God has given us in His Book, the Bible. This helps us to conduct ourselves rightly in life, yielding spiritual fruit and attaining holiness; "For it is written: 'Be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:16). The ultimate end for those who bear no spiritual fruit is the same as that of the fig tree—and it may arrive long before the anticipated harvest. Must we wait for the time of the harvest? Even if our fruit is merely ripening, we must possess it nonetheless.